World of Words: Poem of the week

I see him, with the tin, as I put my shopping in

So I dig into my pocket and I find a pound

Is that enough? I ponder

What did he do? I wonder,

as I see him with the tin.

He wears his beret, faded; his regimental badge

Does it still exist? I think

It does to him, I know.

His medals show he did his bit – he got stuck in – him with the tin.

So is a pound enough – I think – again,

for all he saw, for all he did, for friends he lost?

We know the price of war; he knows the cost.

His actions gave us freedom; us, so comfortably complacent

A million pounds is not enough, but one’s a start

So I put it in the tin.

How it would have been, without him?

Thank you, I say, from my civilian heart.